I was sexually harassed and insulted on SWC-members earlier today. This attack on me was completely unwarranted and hurtful. I want to know why this kind of behavior is tolerated and not moderated when you advertise a child friendly game.

: what is this, a wild Crog
: you use it to show possession
: IE
: a monkey's poo
: There's
: So
: or is it just retarded
: There possesses something?
: when you use a NOUN
: I wanted to go with Crog but now I'm leaning toward retarded
: You're wrong
: someone grammar corrected me, when I was right
: look it up
: I just did
: I thought you were right at first
: you weren't right, it's ok
: You didn't look well.enough
: are you 12 or not actually a native english speaker
: I checked 5 results all saying the same thing.
*** Superman is now known as Erek
: No you didn't, you're wrong and don't want to admit it
: It's okay, we're all wrong every once in a while
: You can't believe everything you read on the internet.
: For instance. Mikel is actually a cat trained in legal counsel.
: He IS?!
: half of that is true
: (I am a cat)
: http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/pronouns/1-grammar-error/
: here's a less dumb question
: why do all male redheads look EXACTLY THE SAME?
: Because they have no souls to distinguish the DNA shamefulness.
: To indicate possession: The apostrophe is used to indicate that a noun or an indefinite pronoun is possessive. Possessives usually indicate ownership, as in Tim's hat, the editor's desk, or someone's gloves. I thought that in this context, "it's" isn't a noun but it has replaced one. So I figured the rule to work.
: yo momma
: Rule 2: When you are using its as a possessive, don’t use the apostrophe.
: Right, I read that. I was just explaining my reasoning.
: It's cool. You learned something today. So that's a positive.
: wow it's like you have no idea what exceptions to rules are
: Dude, just admit you were wrong. We won't think any less of you

: As a grammar troll, I must accept that I may make some mistakes from time to time. Thanks for keeping me on my game.
: it's generally a good idea to be intelligent if you want to be a grammar troll
: have you considered janitorial work instead

: I think we all grew a little from this exchange
*** Patches is now known as Oatches
*** Oatches is now known as Patches
: Only in the pants.
: Hey Mikel, would you please cool it with the personal insults please. The personal attack is unwarranted and I would appreciate if you would refrained from further insults.
: oooooh yeah Mikel. You teach that illiterate
: Mouthy
: YOU'RE NOT MY SUPERVISOR

: also eat a dick

: Very classy.
: yw yw
: If this gets your panties in a bunch. #swc-members isn't going to be your cup of tea.
: yes Mikel, stop insulting his person or he's gonna have to talk to someone with an @ in the channel
: Must I open a thread to cool your tongue?
: Now Mikel, if this young man insists on being polite, you should respond in kind
: lol
: Make it in suggestions.
: yeah I'm sure that'll work well for you
: ... I retract my statement, go get him Mikky
: do it. i have several suggestions for mike's thong too!

: you just want to be close to my blackhole

: Well I find it a bit unacceptable that this behavior is tolerated and not moderated.

: Must I open a vein to cool your tongue?

: wait, who is my supervisor?
: fixed that for you
: you should complain about it to an operator

GENERAL SERVER RULES
- At any given time an IRC Operator can deny any user the benefit of using parts
- or the full chat service if improper behavior on behalf of the user is noted.
- This includes--but is not limited to--violations such as repeated flooding,
- spamming, harassment of other users, mass-invites, recruitment, connection of
- multiple clients, and any miscellaneous inappropriate or malicious behaviour.
- Players banned from the Combine are often denied access to the IRC server
- as a whole or to the official IRC rooms (the strictness of the ban will be
- determined by the IRC Operators on a case-by-case basis)

Mikel in particular was rude, sexually explicit and definitely not projecting model behavior for a child friendly game. All I would like to know is: what steps are you the admin going to take to ensure that this does not happen again?

As much as I would love to say this is an isolated incident, and that kind of thing rarely happens, and the staff as a whole are a great bunch, and this is unlikely to happen again, and you'll probably get an apology....

The reality is that #Swc-members is possibly the most unfriendly channel in IRC. And all you're likely to get there is a bunch of spam just like this. I would advise finding other channels, there are literally hundreds of them, and try not to let aggravations like that get to you too much. It's nothing personal, they do it to everyone.

Welcome to SWC.

Edit for clarification: The staff is a mixed bag, like anywhere. There's some perfectly nice people who are very helpful, and some...who aren't.

I tried to help him out but even his raw paste didn't have names... so, enjoy:

“
[19:01:15] @Mikel> what is this, a wild Crog
[19:01:25] Aturgot_I`lihs> you use it to show possession
[19:01:26] Aturgot_I`lihs> IE
[19:01:36] Aturgot_I`lihs> a monkey's poo
[19:01:39] Jesse> There's
[19:01:43] Jesse> So
[19:01:44] @Mikel> or is it just retarded
[19:01:52] Jesse> There possesses something?
[19:01:55] @Mikel> I wanted to go with Crog but now I'm leaning toward retarded
[19:01:55] Aturgot_I`lihs> when you use a NOUN
[19:02:13] Jesse> You're wrong
[19:02:20] Aturgot_I`lihs> someone grammar corrected me, when I was right
[19:02:22] Aturgot_I`lihs> look it up
[19:02:25] Aturgot_I`lihs> I just did
[19:02:28] * Quits: DvB (androirc@swc-irc.0fe.od7.env0bp.IP) (Ping timeout: 121 seconds)
[19:02:33] Aturgot_I`lihs> I thought you were right at first
[19:02:33] HM> you weren't right, it's ok
[19:02:36] Jesse> You didn't look well.enough
[19:02:51] @Mikel> are you 12 or not actually a native english speaker
[19:02:55] Aturgot_I`lihs> I checked 5 results all saying the same thing.
[19:03:16] * Superman is now known as Erek
[19:03:35] Jesse> No you didn't, you're wrong and don't want to admit it
[19:03:58] Jesse> It's okay, we're all wrong every once in a while
[19:04:00] * Quits: Novia_Lupa (Mibbit@swc-irc.mel.amj.hn5nhh.IP) (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
[19:04:11] HM> You can't believe everything you read on the internet.
[19:04:31] HM> For instance. Mikel is actually a cat trained in legal counsel.
[19:04:33] * Joins: Dominic (androirc@swc-irc.0fe.od7.env0bp.IP)
[19:04:45] Desmond> He IS?!
[19:05:05] @Mikel> half of that is true
[19:05:09] @Mikel> (I am a cat)
[19:05:15] @Mikel> http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/pronouns/1-grammar-error/
[19:05:42] @Mikel> here's a less dumb question
[19:05:43] * Joins: Dav (Dav@swc-irc.gm3.h97.v1n9rq.IP)
[19:05:51] @Mikel> why do all male redheads look EXACTLY THE SAME?
[19:06:16] HM> Because they have no souls to distinguish the DNA shamefulness.
[19:08:57] Aturgot_I`lihs> To indicate possession: The apostrophe is used to indicate that a noun or an indefinite pronoun is
possessive. Possessives usually indicate ownership, as in Tim's hat, the editor's desk, or someone's gloves. I thought that in this context, "it's" isn't a noun but it has replaced one. So I figured the rule to work.
[19:08:57] * Quits: DavOrd (Dav@swc-irc.bgp.m2d.v1n9rq.IP) (Ping timeout: 121 seconds)
[19:09:24] Redjon_Mirrabel> yo momma
[19:09:41] HM> Rule 2: When you are using its as a possessive, don’t use the apostrophe.
[19:10:15] Aturgot_I`lihs> Right, I read that. I was just explaining my reasoning.
[19:10:43] HM> It's cool. You learned something today. So that's a positive.
[19:10:53] @Mikel> wow it's like you have no idea what exceptions to rules are
[19:10:56] Jesse> Dude, just admit you were wrong. We won't think any less of you
[19:10:58] Aturgot_I`lihs> As a grammar troll, I must accept that I may make some mistakes from time to time. Thanks for keeping me on my game.
[19:11:16] * Quits: Moff_Malephar (Wummer@swc-irc.gve.bnt.t057vm.IP) (Connection reset by peer)
[19:11:17] it's generally a good idea to be intelligent if you want to be a grammar troll
[19:11:27] @Mikel> have you considered janitorial work instead
[19:11:49] Jesse> I think we all grew a little from this exchange :)
[19:11:50] * Patches is now known as Oatches
[19:12:04] * Oatches is now known as Patches
[19:12:24] HM> Only in the pants.
[19:12:33] Aturgot_I`lihs> Hey Mikel, would you please cool it with the personal insults please. The personal attack is unwarranted and I would appreciate if you would refrained from further insults.
[19:12:45] @Erek> oooooh yeah Mikel. You teach that illiterate
[19:12:49] Jesse> Mouthy
[19:12:49] * Quits: Kyas (Mibbit@swc-irc.l9i.ndb.uem0so.IP) (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
[19:12:49] @Mikel> YOU'RE NOT MY SUPERVISOR
[19:12:56] @Mikel> also eat a dick
[19:13:02] Aturgot_I`lihs> Very classy.
[19:13:06] @Mikel> yw yw
[19:13:10] HM> If this gets your panties in a bunch. #swc-members isn't going to be your cup of tea.
[19:13:16] Mesh`la> yes Mikel, stop insulting his person or he's gonna have to talk to someone with an @ in the channel
[19:13:20] @Erek> Now Mikel, if this young man insists on being polite, you should respond in kind
[19:13:21] Aturgot_I`lihs> Must I open a thread to cool your tongue?
[19:13:30] HM> lol
[19:13:36] * Quits: Crow (crow.kain@swc-irc.sfi.s7k.rq7k0m.IP) (Ping timeout: 121 seconds)
[19:13:38] HM> Make it in suggestions.
[19:13:46] @Mikel> yeah I'm sure that'll work well for you
[19:13:47] @Erek> ... I retract my statement, go get him Mikky
[19:14:07] blerkherl> do it. i have several suggestions for mike's thong too!
[19:14:23] @Mikel> you just want to be close to my blackhole
[19:14:31] Mesh`la> Aturgot_I`lihs> Must I open a vein to cool your tongue?
[19:14:31] Aturgot_I`lihs> Well I find it a bit unacceptable that this behavior is tolerated and not moderated.
[19:14:33] Pozz> wait, who is my supervisor?
[19:14:36] Mesh`la> fixed that for you
[19:14:49] @Mikel> you should complain about it to an operator

I avoid #swc-members like the venereal disease it is. It's where the socially needy gather to pretend they have social lives, and will literally do anything for attention. Including offending others for their own amusement.

You would be best to just find another channel, because it will never be properly moderated. It's sad, because it is a reflection of what the regulars consider "community".

Jay's comment is what should immediately grasp the Administration's attention. The channel has been a cesspool for years. There's no disputing that with any degree of honesty. Yet it's also the first channel that so many new members gravitate towards simply because of the name.

Honestly, the official channels (#SWC-) should be held to standards that we'd expect on the forums at the very LEAST. If not higher as there are more moderators/operators actively sitting in the channels.

“The channel has been a cesspool for years. There's no disputing that with any degree of honesty. Yet it's also the first channel that so many new members gravitate towards simply because of the name.

Honestly, the official channels (#SWC-) should be held to standards that we'd expect on the forums at the very LEAST. If not higher as there are more moderators/operators actively sitting in the channels.”

As others have said. It's really quite sad that the first room that most new members gravitate to is the one where they are the most likely to be trolled to death. It's not a good way to show that the combine is a community populated by more than just people who spend all day trolling each other or new players.

What Weylin said is true. #SWC- channels need to have their rules enforced, instead of having those with @ status do the heaviest trolling.

“Seriously, how do you cope?”

A member, particularly a new one, shouldn't have to cope with being trolled from the get-go. It's just common sense that when someone asks you (politely, as Aturgot did) to stop being offensive, that you do it. This should apply to everyone, moderators on down.

You're ignoring, obviously, the facts that this complainant is a self-described "troll" himself, immediately upon joining the channel began emoting that he was having a monkey shit on people, started an inane argument about something that he was clearly wrong about and then acted like a victim when he was called out, and then chose to selectively paste logs in an attempt to strong-arm support amongst the community as a whole when he realized that nobody actually found him likable.

I and every other person on IRC is allowed to mock people who make abject fools of themselves.

No, you're correct. In that she was hardly the paragon of a new player, though if we look for a little bit we can see that what Aturgot said is hardly out of line with the usual fare in members. Everyone else talking in there does the exact same thing, or worse, regularly.

The problem is that moderators and staff are supposed to be better than that. You folks (And some of you are) are supposed to be the mature, rational ones who keep things like this from happening, and certainly not getting involved in the first place.

Instead we get:

“[19:12:56] @Mikel> also eat a dick”

“.:@Mikel:. I've always wanted to really make someone cry because of something I said to them on IRC
.:@Mikel:. I've done it 3 times IRL that I can remember but IRC isn't as satisfying because I can only postulate that I actually made it happen”

"Be nice" is not a rule and is not going to be a rule. It's impossible to enforce; it's been tried. If someone trolls, then they will most likely be trolled back. That seems to be what happened here. However, if one party starts using any type of derogatory slurs regarding race/sexuality/whatever or swearing maliciously at others, they will be banned. Beyond that, people can bicker and banter all they like.

#swc-help should be set as the default channel for newbies, since then they would be connecting to the correct room to ask their questions, which end up in -members pretty regularly. I've been saying that for ages but it's never been done and someone (probably Zhao) would need to code it into the java client on the site.